Trump signs Music Modernization Act

Washington, Oct 12 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has signed a Music Modernization Act, a bipartisan act which addresses music licensing and royalty legislation, among other issues related to music rights.

The Act was signed at a White House ceremony here on Thursday.

Kid Rock was among those who attended the signing. Others in the industry had their invites cancelled after the ceremony was scaled back because of changes in Trump’s schedule to monitor the devastation of Hurricane Michael in Florida and the continued threat of the storm in Georgia, reported variety.com.

"Certain entertainers have been taken advantage of, but no longer, because of Trump, can you believe it?" Trump said at the ceremony.

Also present were the Doobie Brothers guitarist Jeff Baxter, MercyMe, The Beach Boys’ Mike Love, Craig Morgan, John Rich and Sam Moore.

Kanye West was expected to be there, but his name was not called out by Trump at the ceremony. He was scheduled to have lunch at the White House on Thursday afternoon.

After Trump signed the legislation, some of the artistes gathered spoke.

Love thanked Trump for trying to "help Whitney," a reference to Whitney Houston.

Rock, whose real name is Bob Ritchie, said Trump doesn’t always get the credit he deserves.

The legislation is a collection of three different bills long sought by the music industry: The provision for pre-1972 recordings, which extends copyright protection to those works; and a streamlined licensing and royalty regime that will lead to increased compensation for artists when their works are played on digital platforms. The legislation also includes a mechanism for producers and engineers to receive payments directly from SoundExchange, variety.com reported.

"The Music Modernization Act is now the law of the land, and thousands of songwriters and artists are better for it. The result is a music market better founded on fair competition and fair pay," said Mitch Glazier, President, Recording Industry Association of America.

Neil Portnow, President and CEO, Recording Academy, said this will ensure all music creators are compensated fairly when their work is used by digital and satellite music services.